"The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson" Creator Accused of Stealing Work from Filmmaker Reina Gossett

"I'm borrowing money to pay rent."

Transgender activist, filmmaker, and writer Reina Gossett has accused filmmaker David France of stealing work from her to create The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson. The documentary, which debuted on Netflix Friday, examines the death of Marsha P. Johnson, a black trans woman who was central in the Stonewall Riots of 1969. Gossett is saying that France saw a grant application video she made about Johnson, decided he would make the movie, then erased her work from public records and used it himself.

"This week, while I'm borrowing money to pay rent, David France is releasing his multimillion dollar Netflix deal on Marsha P. Johnson," Gossett wrote on Instagram. "I'm still lost in the music trying to #pay_it_no_mind and reeling on how this movie came to be and make so much $ off of our lives and ideas.”

Gossett goes on to allege that “David got inspired to make this film from a grant application video that @sashawortzel and I made and sent to Kalamazoo/Arcus Foundation social justice center while he was visiting. He told the people who worked there — I sh/*t you not — that he should be the one to do this film, got a grant from Sundance/Arcus using my language and research about STAR, got Vimeo to remove my video of Sylvia's critical 'y'all better quiet down' speech, ripped off decades of my archival research that I experienced so much violence to get, had his staff call Sasha up at work to get our contacts, then hired my and Sasha's ADVISOR to our Marsha film Kimberly Reed to be his producer."

She added, "This kind of extraction/excavation of black life, disabled life, poor life, trans life is so old and so deeply connected to the violence Marsha had to deal with throughout her life."

Transgender activist and author Janet Mock also took to Instagram in defense of Gossett, accusing France of taking her interviews and research for the movie without permission. "This brilliant black trans girl went about researching, archiving, and digitizing content that was previously inaccessible for decades," she wrote. "She interviewed Marsha and Sylvia’s peers. She did this work without pay. Today, this black trans woman’s work about a black trans woman was used to make a film helmed by a credentialed white cis man aided by Netflix’s millions. Meanwhile, Reina is borrowing money to pay rent as viewers around the world watch a film based on her unpaid, uncredited work." Mock called on her followers to support Gossett by hiring her as a speaker and teaching others about her work.

On Twitter, France replied to allegations by sharing the same statement to those who asked him about the allegations. “I learned of [“Happy Birthday, Marsha,” Gossett’s film] well into our work and reached out, worried we were duplicating efforts. We were not, as OUT has noted.” He added that “Marsha’s and Sylvia’s inspiring stories have been told before and must be told again with many voices, especially by trans women who have an even harder time raising funds than we did. That’s why we fully support Reina and Sasha’s beautiful film.”